SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO.com) — A Whittier convenience store at the center of controversy has had its liquor license revoked amid concerns from the Sioux Falls City Council that its owners weren’t doing enough to combat drunkenness at the store.
Police and neighbors had complained about intoxicated people congregating near the Walia convenience store on East 10th street, a half-block from the Bishop Dudley House.
The council voted 6-2 to deny the license, a vote originally scheduled for November 30 before two deferrals.
Tyler Coverdale, an attorney representing the store’s owners, said the problem of public intoxication went beyond Walia, and preventing the renewal of the store’s license would be “shifting the problem” to other businesses.
Still, a majority of councilors deemed the store unfit for its license. Councilor Greg Neitzert said he would give the store’s owners the benefit of the doubt on how earnestly they were confronting problems, but he believed they were “not equipped” to handle the situation.
Councilors Christine Erickson and Marshall Selberg were the two ‘yes’ votes. Erickson suggested renewing the license with the understanding that it could be revoked before it was up for renewal next December, as is allowed under state law.
Coverdale said that roughly 80 percent of the store’s revenue comes from non-alcohol products, something Councilor Theresa Stehly said was a factor in her decision to vote ‘no.’
